Chapter 98 The Coroner Who Personally Takes Action
"Steal?" Li Jin stood with his hands behind his back, his brows slightly furrowed. "You mean, all of these were stolen?"
From women's hairpins and hair ornaments to Chinese medicine jars, inkstones, calligraphy brushes, and teacups... the entire courtyard of the coroner's office was filled with these items.
And all of these things were stolen?
“Yes, he felt a sense of release and pleasure while seeking thrills.” Zhang Xin held the cup in his hand and showed it to Li Jin. “The way to satisfy this kind of pleasure is often through theft.”
"This is a special kind of mental illness. People who suffer from it are often unable to control their urge to steal."
Zhang Xin said, "It has nothing to do with family background, and he is often well-educated. He knows that stealing is a bad thing, but he can't control the urge."
“The stolen items, just like what you see right now, may not be what he needs.” He bent down, picked up a cheap hairpin, and gently twirled it in his hand. “But what he enjoys is taking them away; it’s a process that soothes his mood and brings him pleasure.”
Seeing the astonished expressions on Li Jin and Yun Fei's faces, Zhang Xin turned around and laughed: "There are quite a lot of people like this. Look at the casinos, aren't they all people who can't resist gambling, even if it means losing their families?"
"It's because if they don't gamble, it's like taking their lives. They'll feel disappointed, depressed, and like they have nowhere to go and can't go on living."
Under the sunlight and amidst the chirping of cicadas, a tabby cat that had been strolling along the eaves for a long time walked around the entire roof, then bent down and stretched its arms and legs.
It was languid, elegant, and strolled leisurely, its jewel-like eyes reflecting the image of white feathers.
He sat cross-legged on the rooftop, waiting for the pigeons while gazing at the courtyard in front of him.
Upon seeing the cat approaching, he frowned and shooed it away.
Zhang Xin's cat, used to such sights, didn't bother arguing with him at all. It turned around expressionlessly, leaped down from the roof, and landed precisely on Zhang Xin's shoulder.
At this moment, Li Jin, who understood kleptomania to a great extent, nodded and sighed, "He stole too much."
“His death is very likely related to the things he stole.” Zhang Xin raised his hand and casually pulled the cat on his shoulder into his arms. He gently stroked the cat’s back and said with a smile, “Maybe he stole something important and was silenced.”
He glanced at Li Jin: "Didn't you say he was a retainer of the Grand Tutor's son?"
Having said that, Li Jin already knew what was going on.
He looked at the scattered items, took a deep breath, rolled up his sleeves, and pursed his lips: "Zhou Zheng, go and call everyone who's free. There's so much stuff here; the four of us can't manage alone."
After saying that, he frowned, unsure of where to begin.
The coroner's office felt like another world.
Jin Shu's attention was entirely focused on the corpse in front of her, and she was completely unaware of what was happening outside.
The victim's livor mortis was concentrated on the back of the head, shoulders, back, buttocks, and calves, consistent with the characteristics of dying while lying flat.
The "eight" on the back is definitely a mark left after death, like a fresh branding mark.
It has bloodstains, but the surrounding area is not red and the pattern is not raised, indicating that it was violently branded on after death using a method similar to branding with a hot iron.
As for the true cause of death...
She stood to the side, knife in hand, staring at the victim's smile, utterly bewildered.
Theoretically speaking, after death, a person will first go through a stage of muscle relaxation, and then the body temperature will drop, entering the rigor mortis stage.
Then, the stiffness will gradually ease after 24 hours, and will be completely relieved after 48 hours.
Judging from the condition of the corneal livor mortis, the body in front of us had been dead for two days, but the rigor mortis indicated that it had been in a state of death for 24 hours.
In other words, there was no sign of rigor mortis being relieved.
Jin Shu held a sharp knife in her hand, her brows furrowed.
This was a unique situation she had never encountered before.
In an era similar to the feudal dynasties of ancient China, there weren't many additional factors that could interfere with determining the time of death. There was no air conditioning, no refrigerator, and no heating or fans.
What caused the corpse in front of us to be so rigid?
If the body is smiling, it can be placed in a sealed space like a coffin for several hours before being taken out; this simple operation can achieve the desired result.
The persistent stiffness was troubling Jin Shu.
She stood there, motionless.
Outside, Li Jin and Yun Fei squatted down and checked each item one by one, not even looking back.
Just when she was at her wit's end, Yan Zhao, who had been standing at the door at some point, suddenly spoke up: "So you don't understand poison."
Jin Shu was taken aback and turned her head in surprise: "Poison?"
Yan Zhao nodded. In Jin Shu's eyes, he stood backlit: "Is it too stiff to touch? But the eye crystals are almost completely cloudy. The theoretical time of death doesn't match the time of rigor mortis?"
He took a step, put on his gloves, and walked to the opposite side of Jin Shu, watching her nod in surprise.
“If you encounter this situation again, you should first consider a special poisonous plant called Gelsemium elegans, also known as wild kudzu or wild vine. It is poisonous throughout, and the young leaves are especially toxic in spring and summer.” Yan Zhao pressed down on the lividity a few times, then gently pinched his knees and elbows. “Make the cut.”
He said, looking up at Jin Shu's face, "I'll mainly look at the lungs and stomach. You make the incision, and I'll explain slowly."
Jin Shu really doesn't understand poisons.
Even with modern forensic technology, in that civilized era, it was rare for people to accidentally ingest poisonous plants and end up in the forensic morgue.
"The reaction to Gelsemium elegans poisoning is very fast. Generally, within about an hour, the patient will first experience abdominal pain and nausea, unbearable sore throat, followed by difficulty swallowing, slurred speech, and a heartbeat that is initially slow and then quickens. The breathing is the opposite, starting fast and then becoming shallow."
He pointed to the tip of Jin Shu's knife: "Look here, the lungs are almost entirely filled with blood clots. If you cut further down, you'll see a lot of diffuse spots or patchy bleeding in the stomach. If you're lucky, you might even find the stems and leaves of Gelsemium elegans."
Inside the room, time flowed by like water.
As Yan Zhao spoke, he watched Jin Shu wield her knife. "Fast, accurate, and steady" was his assessment of her blade.
Every point was no challenge for the girl dressed as a man. Her understanding of the human body seemed innate, which surprised Yan Zhao.
"The gastric mucosa is congested and swollen, the lungs are severely congested and edematous, and the liver and kidneys are congested to varying degrees. Based on the condition of the corpse in front of us, it can be basically determined that the death was caused by respiratory and organ failure." Jin Shu said while wiping the knife in her hand with a small handkerchief.
Only after seeing Yan Zhao nod affirmatively did she cover the corpse in front of her from head to toe with burlap.
Yan Zhao narrowed his eyes slightly, watching her carefully put away the knives one by one and return them to the display shelf. He then asked, "How should the case be classified? How should the scope of the suspects be defined? What crucial clues can you provide for those guys who have been searching for almost two hours outside?"
Jin Shu was taken aback and frowned as she looked towards the door.
In the courtyard, Li Jin was at a loss, looking at the "collection" that filled the yard, his face showing his complete lack of clues.
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